Saudi-led coalition declares end to Yemen air strikes

The Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing Yemen for almost a month says its military operation “Decisive Storm” has ended and a new campaign aimed at protecting civilians and preventing Houthi fighters from operating has begun.

Brigadier-General Ahmed al-Asiri, the coalition’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday that the coalition had achieved its military goals in Yemen and a new operation, called “Renewal of Hope”, would aim to protect civilians and combat “terrorism”.

The new operation started at midnight local time (22:00 GMT).

Early on Wednesday morning, Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi gave a televised address from Riyadh, where he thanked the coalition partners for their support.